Make a Facies Model: Linking Sedimentology and Geomorphology Using Google EarthT.A. Hickson, University of St. Thomas

Talkeetna and Susitna River Junction, AlaskaMississippi River south of Vicksburg, Mississippi

AN OVERVIEW

MAKE AFACIESMODEL

MakeAFaciesModel.kmz:Google Earth file that linksto specific environments

on Earth

Meanderingfluvial

Braidedfluvial

Site A:Near thechannel

Site B:On the

point bar

Site C:On alevee

Site A:In theactive

channel

Site B:On a

recentlystabilized

bar

Site C: Inoverbank

areasstabilized byvegetation

By the end of thisexercise studentsshould be able to:

Describe howmodern

geomorphicenvironments are

used to definefacies models in

sed/strat

Describe themain features

of ameanderingand braidedfluvial facies

model

1. What processes are going on at locationsA, B, and C that make them distinctivelydi erent? Also, what types of sediments

(including sedimentary structures, textures,compositions, fossils, etc.) would you expectto find if you took a 10 m thick core at eachof these locations? Sketch what you mightexpect to find and label your sketch with

processes.

2. If you were looking at a vertical sequence ofsedimentary rocks, what would you look for todiscern whether the sequence was deposited

as part of this depositional system? You mightcall your answer to this question a type of

"facies model." You should submit a sketch ofthe vertical sequence as a stratigraphic

column, with approximate vertical scale, alongwith your answer.

3. How might youdistinguish details of thedepositional environment(i.e. could you recognize

sub-environments within thebroader picture of thisdepositional system)?

Each

don

e as

gro

up d

iscu

ssio

n

A

A

A

B

BB

C

A

A

A

B

B

B

C

C

C

C

SOME THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS

1) Unfortunately, I don’t have student examples of work from this exercise. It is really meant to take the place of a set of lectures on depositional systems and facies models, so I generally do not col-lect student work.

2) My main motivation for moving to this model was a distinct distaste for the high altitude �yover of depositional environments that are in most sed/strat textbooks. I have always felt that this has left my students with a very broad, but very shallow understanding of dep systems. I wanted to give them the tools to link geomorphic systems to de-postional systems for themselves and to see the thought processes that go into developing these models.

3) My over-arching goal for this course is to teach students how to interpret the sedimentary record in terms of small scale processes and larger scale depositional environments. This is what sedimentologists and stratigra-phers actually do, so I feel I should teach my students to do this at an ap-propriate level. This exercise, I believe, gives them one of these tools.

THE ASSIGNMENTIn this assigment students are asked to make an explicit link between speci�c settings on the Earth, geomorphic pro-cesses, depositional processes, and the sedimentary facies they produce. Rather than present facies models in a lec-ture format, it is my intent to teach students how to create facies models from real-world settings. This allows students to develop their own schema into which they can integrate their ideas of sedimentary facies and the interpretation of depositional environments. This assignment is used in a junior level sedimentology and stratigraphy course, about 2/3 of the way through the class. It takes about two lecture sections to run properly, as it is taught in an interactive activity/discussion format.

WHAT A STUDENT SEES (ON BLACKBOARD)

WHAT WE DOThis assignment is usually done over a couple of lecture sections. They are given the assignment and asked to brainstorm their answers to question 1 in groups. We then re-group as a class and have a discussion that summarizes their ideas and interjects key material that may have been missed. We then do the same for questions 2 and 3. In the end, we have created a solid facies model for meandering �uvial systems. The process is repeated for braided sys-tems, with students playing a larger role after cutting their teeth on meandering systems.